Avant garde dance choreographer Merce Cunningham has passed away at age 90.
According to a message on his official website, he passed away on June 26, 2009, although no official reason is given.For his 90th birthday earlier this year, Sonic Youth teamed up with John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and Takehisa Kosugi (violinist/composer) to create the soundtrack to a celebratory piece.
Over the years he had also worked with the likes of John Cage, Radiohead and Sigur Ros.
Earlier today, Radiohead made a statement through their website, which reads:
“We are very sad to hear about Merce Cunningham’s death yesterday, aged ninety. Merce invited us to take part in his Split Sides project, in October 2003. It was a collaboration of music and dance, but one where each of the elements - set, costume, choreography and music - were randomly combined, to create a performance around chance. He was very kind and hospitable, and invited us around to his apartment the night before the show. He showed us his computer program which generated random sequences of gesture and movement for wire-framed mannequins, like Kraftwerk’s Robots. He also showed us, the next night, that discipline and focus can create the space for an unexpected moment, when something new can suddenly exist: such a contrast to the scripted world of rock.”
